The plant will be located in the Tibetan village of Chek Kang, which is located in Sangri County, Shannan Prefecture, Suntech announced yesterday.

Last month, the Chinese government announced it was building a 10-megawatt solar plant in Shigatse, Tibet's second largest city, which is also home to the huge Tashilhunpo Monastery built in the 15th century.

The plant is expected to supply 20,000-megawatt hours of electricity per year when completed. Suntech will manage the plant and sell the electricity to the Zangzhong grid for middle Tibet, according to the Suntech rep.

The Suntech project was announced the day after the Dalai Lama and Tibet's parliament-in-exile began month-long elections around the world to choose their next leader. The Dalai Lama announced in early March that he had decided to retire from his political role, though he will remain his people's spiritual leader.

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In a software-driven world, it's easy to forget about the nuts and bolts. Whether it's cars, robots, personal gadgetry or industrial machines, Candace Lombardi examines the moving parts that keep our world rotating. A journalist who divides her time between the United States and the United Kingdom, Lombardi has written about technology for the sites of The New York Times, CNET, USA Today, MSN, ZDNet, Silicon.com, and GameSpot. She is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not a current employee of CNET.
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